The leader and presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the 2023 elections, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has criticised a proposed bill by the National Assembly seeking to prohibit political defection, describing the move as unconstitutional and a threat to democratic freedom.
Speaking during an interview Thursday night in Abuja, Adebayo said the bill, which proposes sanctions against politicians who defect from one party to another, violates the constitutional right of citizens to freely associate with any political organisation.
According to him, the legislation contradicts Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of association.
“It is unconstitutional to prescribe or punish a person for joining political parties. You cannot legislate that someone cannot join three political parties if they want to,” Adebayo said.
The SDP chieftain argued that the law only allows a politician to be sponsored by one political party during an election but does not prohibit membership in multiple political associations.
He accused the lawmakers of turning the legislature into a “theatre of the absurd,” alleging that the proposed bill is aimed at protecting the administration of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, from internal political instability.
“They are legislating for one person. What they are doing is legislative lynching,” he said.
“The state of the economy is bad, the state of security is bad, and the general welfare of Nigerians is poor,” he said, adding that public confidence in the government has declined.
According to him, the proposed legislation is intended to prevent politicians within the ruling party from abandoning it if political conditions worsen.
Adebayo also criticised members of the National Assembly for allegedly failing to hold the executive accountable, urging Nigerians to remove them from office in future elections.
“The National Assembly is the enabler of many of the problems we complain about,” he said. “They should ensure the executive obeys the constitution, but instead they simply approve whatever is sent to them.”
He also alleged that some lawmakers pushing the anti-defection proposal had themselves switched political loyalties.
APC dominance ‘not reflective of public mood’
Adebayo concluded that the current political developments signal deeper problems within Nigeria’s governance system, warning that attempts to restrict political freedoms could further weaken the country’s democracy.
